To the Bronx and Ms. Fox’s Play Street

For more than 30 years, Ms. Hetty Fox has made sure there is a safe place to play in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx. (See New York Times article.) We’re honored to have been invited to participate in this play street. The Uni marked the first time that books and learning were part of the mix! Our partner was Transportation Alternatives. Thanks to Amelia Carver, Emily Jacobson, and our special guest Rosemary Rivera, Bronx-born author who grew up nearby.

We’re in the middle of three play street deployments, testing our new Uni Cart. The cart lets Uni staff move into place faster, so they can spend more time reading than shelving. Onward.

Set up time in the Bronx: 12 minutes. (Previous average: 39 minutes.)

Today’s library partner: NYPL Woodstock Library. We provided them two shelves for books and outreach materials. Emily Jacobson, Uni volunteer and NYPL librarian signed up folks for library cards.

This fellow asked me to teach him knots from our activity kit. Here’s the start of a bowline.

The new cart is designed with Play Streets in mind: we can follow the shade and also make way for basketball games.

NYPL’s Emily Jacobson signing up residents for NYPL library cards.

Sidewalk chess. Me vs. team of four. Bring it on.

Ahem. Another use for adult books, level surface for domino set ups.

Author Rosemary Rivera came by to read her book “The Girl Who Couldn’t Draw,” illustrated by husband Mario Menjivar. She grew up near Lyman Place.

Ms. Hetty Fox has run this play street for 30 years.

My knot-tying friend was reluctant to part ways at the end of the day. Here we reviewed one that I’ve been using all summer: the venerable trucker’s knot. We’ll be back in two weeks. See you soon Morrisania.

(Note: this post was published on August 23, 2013 and backdated to July 25, 2013.)